Lunar Distance and Age of Sail Classes:
Fascinating classes taught by a fascinating and capable instructor.
Lunars class is challenging and fun. Frank presents several different recipes for accomplishing lunars, one of which seems almost easy (kind of). Highly recommended for anyone interested in celestial navigation or nautical navigation history.
Jeffrey Rock
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner
Advanced Celestial
Winter / Spring 2026:
This is not your grandparents' celestial navigation! In this workshop we focus on celestial for the 21st century, applying traditional sextant sights to modern ocean sailing. In Advanced Celestial we continue directly on the modern sight analysis from Modern Celestial using the streamlined ABC algorithm, and we learn how to find general position fixes from the Sun and also star sights under all conditions. We'll also learn key aspects of the intercept method with Pub.249 Selected Stars tables for fixes.
If you're dreaming about a trans-oceanic voyage or a circum-navigation, in this workshop you'll learn all the techniques to determine latitude and longitude anywhere on Earth using the Sun and key navigational stars. We learn how to adjust celestial lines of position for vessel motion and synchronize Sun and star sights taken at different times for a running fix.
Many navigators give up on the stars and never learn to identify even the brightest like Vega, or Arcturus, or Canopus, let alone Alpheratz or Zubenelgenubi! By the end of this course, you'll know reliable methods and tricks for identifying more than two dozen of the key stars of celestial navigation, enough to sail the globe with confidence for decades. Valuable as much in coastal navigation as in mid-ocean, a navigator who knows the stars follows a perfect compass all night long.
All workshops: $ 149 per person, per workshop- Register Apr 13,14,15: online.
Created and taught by Frank Reed, celestial navigation and astronomy consultant on the team that found Shackleton's "Endurance" in 2022. Also a recent guest expert in celestial navigation on Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk on The National Geographic Channel.
- Nine hours of class sessions.
- Before this workshop: Modern Celestial is strongly recommended.
- Some math you'll need: Introductory algebra concepts and a little basic trigonometry; strong familiarity with latitude and longitude.
- Recommended for ages 18 and up, students as young as age 13 welcome.
- You'll need to purchase the recommended scientific calculator for the class: the Casio fx-260 Solar (original or newer "II" model). These are widely available for less than $15 at Walmart, Staples, and other stores.
If you're registered for an online workshop, you're invited to attend hour-long sextant practical sessions in Rhode Island and Connecticut scheduled as weather and other factors permit. These live, in-person sessions are included in your registration for online classes.
Comments:
Jeffrey Rock wrote: 8👍
Philip M. Sadler wrote: 85👍
What a joyful and stimulating experience to enroll in Frank Reed's class, Celestial Navigation: 19th Century Methods. Frank is a skillful and engaging teacher, able to draw students into this fascinating subject, whether they be novice or experienced. His depth of knowledge is tremendous. Participants get a real taste of what it was like to be aboard a sailing ship of the day. I learned much to enliven my own teaching and decode 19th century ship's logs. It is a rare experience, indeed, to have so much thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and fun packed into two days. This is the way to learn!
Philip M. Sadler, Ed.D.
F.W. Wright Senior Lecturer in Celestial Navigation
Harvard University Astronomy Department
Cambridge, MA
Philip M. Sadler, Ed.D.
F.W. Wright Senior Lecturer in Celestial Navigation
Harvard University Astronomy Department
Cambridge, MA
Greg Rudzinski wrote: 6👍
The online class "Lunars: Finding Longitude by Lunar Distance" was a very interesting introduction to the esoteric history of lunars as practiced at sea in the pre chronometer 18th century tall ship era. Practical instruction was also done demonstrating the physical process of observing a lunar with a sextant followed by a how to lunar sight reduction example using a pocket calculator, formulae, and tables. A very rewarding experience.
Greg Rudzinski
Retired Merchant Mariner
SUNY Maritime class of 80
Greg Rudzinski
Retired Merchant Mariner
SUNY Maritime class of 80
